solar water pump....

[davidd]

We have a river at the bottom of the garden... I thought it would be nice to use the water and wondered if anyone had any experience of one of the many solar powered pumps that seem to around for sub £50...

We don't need a massive power jet, just some water...

Thoughts?

D

[98elise]

You will get fk all head pressure from a £50 solar pump. How high is the lift, and how far do you want to pump it?

[davidd]

A couple of feet to get to the bank then a few meters on the flat...

[Simpo Two]

Use a water wheel to pump it up.





Hang on...

[nomisesor]

You don't need solar power - you've got all the power you need at the bottom of your garden. A hydraulic ram pump is a very simple low maintenance gizmo, see Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydraulic_ram and youtube - a friend of ours with one of his demonstration models http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkrWEAyYhbU&fea... There are also lots of larger ones on youtube, including a neat underwater one. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Egzyn_Mgr_8

[davidd]

That is interesting, thanks.. The river flow is very slow though..... Hmmm

[nomisesor]

Hmmm - is there an exploitable difference in water level at the upstream end and the downstream end of the river as it passes your garden, or a weir? That's the critical thing rather than the rate of flow... though I suppose they often go together (not always, as for example in the deltas of big rivers - minimal head, but huge flow)!

[CunningPlan]

I've been looking at the ram pumps for a bit and I'm tempted myself. We need water to animal troughs and have a stream with a drop of about 3 feet. A search of the internet brings up designs based on waste pipe for use in Africa - it's almost worth giving it a go for the fun of it. From what I saw of one in action (not a waste pipe one, an old iron one) they can be noisy which makes sense when you think how they work.

Solar is a very attractive idea - power for nothing and wherever you want it. The truth seems to be that to generate the sort of power you'd need then you would need to buy a lot more than 50 quid's worth of PV panels. We use one for an electric fence which takes almost no current and that copes OK.

ETA: No it doesn't cope - just had the battery charger on overnight... It does contribute something though as without it the battery would need charging more frequently.

Edited by CunningPlan on Wednesday 29th June 09:34

[zaphod42]

They are amazing pieces of engineering - very, very reliable. Victorians loved them and some stately homes still use them Not noisy per se, but wouldn't want one running overnight - but they are easy to prime and start.